Hold Off on .XXX Defensive Registrations — DomainIncite

LONDON — Trademark owners trying to protect their brands from .XXX squatters should wait for ICM Registry to reveal its anti-cybersquatting measures first before registering domains, says DomainIncite.com, which reports on Internet news.

"With registrar prices for sunrise trademark blocks currently hovering around the $300 mark, an especially aggressive enforcement strategy could rack up six-figure bills for large brand holders," DomainIncite said. "But it may turn out to be more cost-effective to use ICM’s post-launch enforcement mechanisms to fight cybersquatting."

ICM Registry plans to have some of "the most Draconian post-launch IP rights protections mechanisms of any new TLD to date." It plans to permanently ban cybersquatters who are “found to have repeatedly engaged in abusive registration,” while abusers will lose their .XXX portfolios — even noninfringing domains.

"If, as a registrant, you think the Uniform Rapid Suspension policy ICANN plans to enforce on new TLDs is tough, you’ll likely have a bigger problem with Rapid Takedown," DomainIncite said. "Rapid Takedown is expected to be modeled on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It will use UDRP experts, but will only take 48 hours to suspend a domain name.

"Trademark holders should wait for their full range of options to be revealed before panicking about high sunrise fees."